Jose Antonio Reyes breaks down barriers to prove he still has magic touch

Getting it off his chest: Jose Antonio Reyes has had a difficult career but things are looking good again for the rejuvenated Atletico Madrid winger

When Jose Antonio Reyes was chewed up and spat out by Real Madrid it looked like his crash-and-burn career was heading for the rocks.

His two years at Arsenal following his £10.5million move in January 2004 were punctuated by rumours that he wanted to return to his native Spain and play for Real.

He articulated his desire in a prank call from a Madrid radio station who led Reyes to believe he was talking to Emilio Butragueno, the club's then director of football, about a move to the Bernabeu. The winger said he was unhappy in London and a move seemed inevitable.

Sent off in the FA Cup Final in 2005, Reyes played 69 times and scored 16 goals, winning one Premier League with the Gunners before moving on loan to Real. His season's stay had a dramatic climax when he came off the bench at the end of David Beckham's final match to score the two goals against Real Mallorca that clinched the La Liga title.

It was also Reyes' final match. New coach Bernd Schuster did not want him and in July 2007, he moved across town to Atletico in a deal worth £10m.

His first season was a disaster and he was packed off to Benfica on another season's loan in an attempt to ressurect his career.

The Portuguese team won the League Cup while he was in Lisbon but Reyes was hardly a star and returned again to chance his arm with Atletico.

He initially struggled under Abel Resino but the manager's sacking in October and the arrival of Quique Sanchez Flores, who was also his coach at Benfica, heralded a change in fortunes.

And tonight the 26-year-old with gypsy blood in his veins and immense skill in his feet will finally get the chance tonight to prove his doubters wrong and show why Arsene Wenger put so much faith in him.

"I must admit that I'd lost confidence in myself," he said, referring to the times when he was relentlessly booed by Atletico supporters who only saw him as a Real reject. "It's just basic that your coach believes in you and shows that faith because players like me go out, take risks and receive nothing but a good kicking on some days.

"Some fans just had it in for me when I first came to Atletico because they could only see my past at Real Madrid but no one should ignore the fact that the fundamental of football is to go out and play, to entertain, not to kick the hell out of a player who tries things.

"I totally accept that given the kind of player I am I will always have to put up with people who simply want to kick me out of games. But if you have to suffer that while you don't believe that your coach has faith in you as a footballer then the debate is already lost.

"So the arrival of Quique Sanchez Flores has not only been good for the team, obviously, but for me personally. I think that the supporters come to watch football to enjoy themselves, not just to see one team destroy another. That's just ugly.

"Thank God things have changed with the arrival of the new coach because the ex-manager, Resino, just didn't play me. Everything has changed now in that not only does the coach choose me I have also shown that I can take advantage of that trust by playing well and doing so regularly.

"Being given a chance is one thing, knowing how to take advantage of it is another different skill."

There have been suggestions that Sanchez Flores has more faith in Reyes simply because they both have romany roots — they are both descended from Andalusian gypsies. The manager calls such perception "a cultural problem where people only think of gypsies as delinquents but if they were given the same types of opportunities as everyone else they would see a different story. We are talking about racism".

Indeed, their shared cultural influences have far from harmed a relationship which has rescued Atletico and propelled them to tonight's fascinating contest with Fulham in Hamburg and the Spanish Cup Final next week against Sevilla.

"Four months ago nobody would have given a sniff at our chances of reaching one, never mind two, significant finals and the impact of the new coach has been massive for us," Reyes added. "Now there is a really important trophy to be won and I'll give all I have to make sure that this season is rewarded and the fans have something important to celebrate.

"Personally, I think that those supporters who were fanatically booing me at the beginning of my time here probably weren't right in how they judged me — simply reacting to my Real Madrid past.

"Now I'm playing my own level of football and I believe that quite a few have been won over."

Such was his long slide into nonentity status that many more fans remain to be convinced. But, for the moment, it is winning this final to go with his Spanish and English League titles which will mark whether Reyes is truly back.